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OUTRAGE AT ATTACK ON ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONIST
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #767
Feb 20 2015
Opposition parties demand swift action to find perpetrators of
abduction and assault, and suspect government members of complicity.
By Arpi Harutyunyan
The major parliamentary opposition party in Armenia has accused the
authorities of complicity in the abduction and beating of one of its
leading members. The row has seriously damaged the Prosperous Armenia
party's relationship with the government, and this was only aggravated
when President Serzh Sargsyan launched a personal attack on its leader.
Artak Khachatryan, who sits on Prosperous Armenia's governing council,
was abducted on February by three masked men in the centre of the
capital Yerevan. He was found unconscious and badly beaten five hours
later, near his home. He said he had no idea where he had been taken.
Party colleagues and relatives believe Khachatryan was targeted
specifically because of his vocal opposition to the government's
decision to change the way small businesses are taxed, an issue
that has provoked protests among those who will be hit by greater
regulation. (See Armenia Delays New Tax Rules Again on the issues
involved.)
"It's true Artak never received threats or warnings during the
protests, and we'd never have guessed his actions would lead to this,
but I do link this [attack] to his social and political activities,"
his brother Artyom Khachatryan told IWPR.
Politicians and other concerned citizens gathered outside the
government building in Yerevan on February 9 to demand that
Khachatryan's assailants be caught and punished.
Prosperous Armenia issued a strongly-worded statement condemning what
it called a "cynical" attack.
"It is plain that the entire responsibility for this incident
rests with the authorities," it said. "A thuggish atmostphere has
been created in this country, and the principal culprits for this
lawlessness are the upper echelons of power."
The party is considering asking other political forces in parliament
to join it in a boycott of legislative work.
Vardan Oskanyan, a former foreign minister who now holds a Prosperous
Armenia seat in parliament, told IWPR of the need for the entire
nation to "stand up" to this kind of behaviour.
"Leaving party politics to one side, it needs to be asserted that
they've declared war on the people," he said.
The ruling Republic Party roundly condemned the attack on Khachatryan,
and insisted the authorities had least to gain from doing something
like that.
"We find it unacceptable and we hope the culprits are punished,"
party spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov said.
Until 2012, Prosperous Armenia was in a governing coalition with
the Republican Party, and its leader Gagik Tsarukyan - one of the
country's richest businessmen - was seen as an ally of President
Sargsyan. Things changed after the party left government and last
year it joined forces with the opposition Armenian National Congress
and the Heritage Party to form the Nationwide. This was seen as as
a serious setback for the Sargsyan administration. (See Political
Heavyweight Bolsters Armenian Opposition.)
On February 12, the president appeared before a Republican Party
meeting and declared that Tsarukyan had "become an evil for our
country".
He instructed the prime minister to lead a "detailed" investigation
of allegations that Tsarukyan owed massive amounts in unpaid taxes,
spirited away in "so-called charitable activities".
The same day, the president stripped Tsarukyan of his seat on Armenia's
National Security Council, and proposed kicking him out of parliament,
too, on the grounds that he rarely turned up for sessions.
Both of Prosperous Armenia's allies, Heritage and the Armenian National
Congress, have expressed outrage at the abduction and beating of
Khachatryan. A statement from the latter said it was "no coincidence
that the initial attacks were on members of NGOs and smaller political
groups, and then state terrorism switched to targeting people from
the parties in the Nationwide Movement - the Union of Veterans,
the Armenian National Congress and now Prosperous Armenia too".
Aram Manukyan, a parliamentarian from the Armenian National Congress
party, was assaulted near his home in December after voicing outspoken
criticism of the president (reported in Not-So-Random Violence in
Armenia).
Manukyan said the latest attack on Khachatryan was a direct challenge
to political forces and society generally.
"There have already been dozens of attacks. Which of these [crimes]
has been solved and punishment imposed?" he asked.
Arpi Harutyunyan is a freelance journalist in Armenia.
https://iwpr.net/global-voices/outrage-attack-armenian-oppositionist
From: Baghdasarian
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #767
Feb 20 2015
Opposition parties demand swift action to find perpetrators of
abduction and assault, and suspect government members of complicity.
By Arpi Harutyunyan
The major parliamentary opposition party in Armenia has accused the
authorities of complicity in the abduction and beating of one of its
leading members. The row has seriously damaged the Prosperous Armenia
party's relationship with the government, and this was only aggravated
when President Serzh Sargsyan launched a personal attack on its leader.
Artak Khachatryan, who sits on Prosperous Armenia's governing council,
was abducted on February by three masked men in the centre of the
capital Yerevan. He was found unconscious and badly beaten five hours
later, near his home. He said he had no idea where he had been taken.
Party colleagues and relatives believe Khachatryan was targeted
specifically because of his vocal opposition to the government's
decision to change the way small businesses are taxed, an issue
that has provoked protests among those who will be hit by greater
regulation. (See Armenia Delays New Tax Rules Again on the issues
involved.)
"It's true Artak never received threats or warnings during the
protests, and we'd never have guessed his actions would lead to this,
but I do link this [attack] to his social and political activities,"
his brother Artyom Khachatryan told IWPR.
Politicians and other concerned citizens gathered outside the
government building in Yerevan on February 9 to demand that
Khachatryan's assailants be caught and punished.
Prosperous Armenia issued a strongly-worded statement condemning what
it called a "cynical" attack.
"It is plain that the entire responsibility for this incident
rests with the authorities," it said. "A thuggish atmostphere has
been created in this country, and the principal culprits for this
lawlessness are the upper echelons of power."
The party is considering asking other political forces in parliament
to join it in a boycott of legislative work.
Vardan Oskanyan, a former foreign minister who now holds a Prosperous
Armenia seat in parliament, told IWPR of the need for the entire
nation to "stand up" to this kind of behaviour.
"Leaving party politics to one side, it needs to be asserted that
they've declared war on the people," he said.
The ruling Republic Party roundly condemned the attack on Khachatryan,
and insisted the authorities had least to gain from doing something
like that.
"We find it unacceptable and we hope the culprits are punished,"
party spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov said.
Until 2012, Prosperous Armenia was in a governing coalition with
the Republican Party, and its leader Gagik Tsarukyan - one of the
country's richest businessmen - was seen as an ally of President
Sargsyan. Things changed after the party left government and last
year it joined forces with the opposition Armenian National Congress
and the Heritage Party to form the Nationwide. This was seen as as
a serious setback for the Sargsyan administration. (See Political
Heavyweight Bolsters Armenian Opposition.)
On February 12, the president appeared before a Republican Party
meeting and declared that Tsarukyan had "become an evil for our
country".
He instructed the prime minister to lead a "detailed" investigation
of allegations that Tsarukyan owed massive amounts in unpaid taxes,
spirited away in "so-called charitable activities".
The same day, the president stripped Tsarukyan of his seat on Armenia's
National Security Council, and proposed kicking him out of parliament,
too, on the grounds that he rarely turned up for sessions.
Both of Prosperous Armenia's allies, Heritage and the Armenian National
Congress, have expressed outrage at the abduction and beating of
Khachatryan. A statement from the latter said it was "no coincidence
that the initial attacks were on members of NGOs and smaller political
groups, and then state terrorism switched to targeting people from
the parties in the Nationwide Movement - the Union of Veterans,
the Armenian National Congress and now Prosperous Armenia too".
Aram Manukyan, a parliamentarian from the Armenian National Congress
party, was assaulted near his home in December after voicing outspoken
criticism of the president (reported in Not-So-Random Violence in
Armenia).
Manukyan said the latest attack on Khachatryan was a direct challenge
to political forces and society generally.
"There have already been dozens of attacks. Which of these [crimes]
has been solved and punishment imposed?" he asked.
Arpi Harutyunyan is a freelance journalist in Armenia.
https://iwpr.net/global-voices/outrage-attack-armenian-oppositionist
From: Baghdasarian